As I age and my body continues to go to crap and my skin does things I never once saw it betraying me by doing in my twenties, I have taken what I consider to be an “extreme” amount of time and effort to care for my skin.  Extreme because I used to do absolutely nothing.  Like, not even washing my make up off on weekends and still having what I considered to be perfectly fine if not good and sometimes great skin.
But now, is anything easy? NOPE.
Sigh.
Now I actually put effort into it, and it still will betray me.
With summer practically here (yay!), I decided I shouldn’t only be focusing on my face (and neck! “they” always tell you that you can’t forget the neck! it’s EXHAUSTING people) but that I should be focusing on everything overall.
As in, skincare below the neck.
I have read about dry brushing since the early days of Goop, but nothing ever seemed too appealing about it.
Well, nothing still seems appealing about it, but neither does taking 5 minutes to wash my face and put on a bunch of creams and oils every night, and yet I do it.  and FINE….. I will say that I DO see a big difference from the nighttime face routine, so I guess I should put a few minutes into the other 80% of my body.

I posted about dry brushing a while back and mentioned I was going to try it, and one of you commented that you swore by it and it really helped with cellulite.  And I am willing to try anything! Especially if it only costs $5.

Benefits to dry brushing include : 
Decreased Cellulite
Exfoliation/Smoother Skin
Improved Lymphatic Drainage + Blood Circulation
Helps with Muscle Tone + Removes Fatty Deposits
Naturally Rid ToxinsHow to Dry Brush :
Brush on dry skin before showering.
Brush in an upward motion towards your heart in small upward strokes.
For your chest and stomach, go in a counterclockwise direction in small circles.
For your back, go downwards.
Moisturize like crazy afterwards.

A few articles I found useful :
Goop’s rundown on dry brushing with a how-to video included
A quick summary of what dry brushing is and why “they” recommend it can be found here.

A step by step guide to dry brushing at Mind Body Green. 
Also, a warning that I saw on Popsugar about dry brushing and possible drawbacks.

I bought a dry brush off of Nordstrom (left) and then saw one at the grocery store (right) that seemed identical to it.  I waited for the Nordstrom one to arrive, touched both the bristles, and swiftly sent the Nordstrom brush back.  The $5 grocery find was exactly the same and actually had a bit more firm bristles, which I figured was even better.  There are a bunch of options on Amazon too with great reviews.

under $5 natural boar bristle body brush // under $10 natural brush w. great reviews 

 // and I’m very intrigued by this two-sided brush for under $15! //

So I decided I would try to dry brush before hopping in the shower for a little while and see what happened.  And maybe it’s just me, but the last thing I want to do when rushing to get in the shower is SOMETHING ELSE.

 

Or I would forget and turn the shower on, remember, be like “damn!” and turn the water off to dry brush. I quickly realized that don’t want to stand their nekked when I am in a hurry, so for the most part I only focused on my thighs and butt.  I’d do the arms and rest of my body occasionally but I was really only doing my backside.

Because let’s be honest, while all the other benefits sound lovely, I am doing this mainly for cellulite.
and seriously….. why do men not get cellulite!? it infuriates me!
but I digress……. 
To get to the point, ONE month in, does dry brushing work!?!?

But I’ll keep trying.  I guess.
My skin is so much softer and I know it definitely won’t hurt to try it a little longer.
I’m hoping that maybe after a little more time it will help more with the cellulite.

BUT.  On a positive note:
One thing I can say FOR SURE works to feel great about your ass and thighs.
A SPRAY TAN. 
(OH! And obviously do NOT dry brush post spray tan…… )
I got a spray tan before Miami and Oh. Em. Gee.
My legs and tush have never looked better.
The BEST $30 I have ever spent in my entire life.
Why did I wait this long to try spray tanning?
What is an appropriate frequency to get spray tanned?
Can I start doing this every Friday and living my best life and throw away the dry brush?

So remember ladies, if you can’t tone it, tan it!

I went to Sweet Peach here in Atlanta and they did an amazing job….. 

SO.  Do any of you dry brush?!
What are your thoughts!?
What are your results!?